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POPSAn Underground City Beneath Beijing, Why? Beijing's Underground Hideout With Khrushchev and the Soviets breathing down his country's metaphorical neck, Chairman Mao ordered the construction of a vast underground city to serve as a shelter during an invasion, air raid or nuclear war. This was no minor undertaking. In the late 1960s, the population of Beijing reached 7.5 million residents . In short order, the residents of the capital city were put to work excavating their enormous air raid shelter. Most of the digging was done by hand, and the work was shared by adults and schoolchildren alike. This communal venture fit nicely into Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution -- a massive campaign to support the communist movement and thwart counterrevolutionary ideas. From 1969 to 1979, the people of Beijing focused their attention underground. Watch Reuters video at website: Building the $500 million Beijing Olympic Stadium
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